Paper napkins are made in a variety of sizes, depending upon the intended end use. The smallest size of unfolded napkin is often referred to in the industry as a "lip and finger" napkin and is used as an economy service representing a low cost per napkin. Typical end uses are coffee shops, donut shops, ice cream parlors, industrial cafeterias, etc. Exemplary sizes for a lip and finger napkin are 7".times.131/2", 7".times.10" and 10".times.10". An intermediate size napkin is generally referred to as a "luncheon" size napkin and represents a step up from the smaller lip and finger napkins. The luncheon size is often used in restaurant and fast food operations serving breakfast and lunch, and typically is about 12".times.13", 13".times.13" or 10".times.17" in size. The largest paper napkin is generally referred to in the industry as a "dinner size" napkin and is used by restaurant operations that serve full meals or by those that seek to enhance the quality of service; some fast food operations also use a dinner size napkin. Exemplary dimensions of dinner size napkins include 13".times.15", 13".times.17" and 17".times.17".
Paper napkins are often stored in a dispenser located at a convenient point of use, such as a countertop or table top. A napkin dispenser includes a compartment or enclosure in which napkins are stored until ready for use in such fashion as will cover the napkins to protect them and keep them clean and sanitary; the dispenser has an opening in at least one wall of the cabinet through which an end user can withdraw a napkin from the dispenser. The various sizes of napkins as noted above are too large to be stored in a napkin dispenser in an unfolded condition; therefore, it is necessary to fold the napkins into a smaller size for storage in a napkin dispenser. Several different sizes and styles of folded napkins are in general use in the industry, and the prior art approach in the case of napkin dispensers has been to provide a dispenser that is specifically limited to holding and dispensing a single type or size of folded napkin.
We have developed the present invention to provide universal napkin dispensers that are able to accommodate various sizes of folded napkins and napkins folded in various styles of folds. One of the advantages of the invention is that our new napkin dispensers provide a food service operator the opportunity to use different types and sizes of folded napkins in a single dispenser, and the freedom to change the type of folded napkin that is stored in our universal dispenser. Our new napkin dispenser is also advantageous to the manufacturer or seller of dispensers as it eliminates the need to produce a variety of dispensers in different sizes and having different styles of openings and/or carry a large inventory of various types of dispensers.